The Boston Bruins 2022-23 season has been over for quite some time now after their shocking first-round series loss to the Florida Panthers, but the NHL season as a whole came to an end on Tuesday night when the Vegas Golden Knights beat those same Panthers 9-3 in Game 5 to win their first ever Stanley Cup. And with that, the Bruins can now officially get back to work.

For the Bruins, this Stanley Cup Final was a bit of a double-edged sword. Whereas in the NBA Finals, it was pretty clear the city of Boston was rooting for the Denver Nuggets to beat the Miami Heat, there wasn't as clear of an answer in the NHL. The Panthers ended the Bruins dream, while the Golden Knights are led by Bruce Cassidy, the head coach the Bruins fired just over a year ago.

In terms of a pure revenge perspective, the Golden Knights winning was probably the lesser of the two evils, but watching Cassidy get canned and then lead another team to a championship isn't exactly a good look. And in an offseason where there are already so many massive questions facing this team, it's fair to really question the makeup of the Bruins locker room.

Why Bruce Cassidy's Stanley Cup victory is bad for the Bruins

Cassidy took over as the Bruins head coach midway through the 2016-17 season, and while he led Boston to the playoffs in each of his six seasons in charge of the team, they generally didn't turn that into much postseason success. Boston only advanced past the second round once, and that was when they lost in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final to the St. Louis Blues.

After last season's loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, it was clear that the Bruins needed to change things up, which they ended up doing by firing Cassidy and replacing him with Jim Montgomery. It was a bit of a strange move, as firing general manager Don Sweeney seemed like a better decision at the time, but Cassidy was deemed the scapegoat for the Bruins failure to meet playoff expectations.

For much of the season, it seemed like the Bruins had made the right decision. Montgomery was a revelation behind the bench for the B's, and they coasted through a historic regular season campaign, thanks to some aggressive moves from Sweeney. But then they lost to the Panthers, negating all of their hard work, and had to watch Cassidy lead his new team in the Golden Knights to the promised land.

Article Continues Below
More Boston Bruins News
Boston Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco (rear) reacts on the bench against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period at PPG Paints Arena.
New Bruins head coach candidate emerges amid Joe Sacco uncertaintySteve Silverman ·
Yanni Gourde in a florida panthers jersey with the florida panthers logo. Question marks around him. NHL Free Agency, Lightning, Free Agent, Yanni Gourde
3 best Yanni Gourde destinations in 2025 NHL free agencyBryan Logan ·
Buffalo Sabres right wing Mike Grier (25) applies pressure to Boston Bruins left wing Marco Sturm (16) during the first period of game two in the first round of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs at HSBC Arena.
Bruins rumors: Boston set to name former player as next head coachChristopher Hennessy ·
Boston Bruins center Morgan Geekie (39) skates with the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period at PPG Paints Arena.
Bruins GM provides big update on key RFAColin Gallant ·
New York Rangers forward Will Cuylle with money raining around him.
3 best destinations for Rangers’ Will Cuylle in 2025 offseasonTristin McKinstry ·
image thumbnail
Bruins rumors: Boston has interviewed at least 6 potential head coachesChristopher Hennessy ·

You can revel in the success Montgomery experienced throughout his first season with the Bruins, but at the end of the day, he couldn't get this team to do what Cassidy couldn't do either. Is this to say that the team itself, rather than the coaching or the front office, is the real reason why they can't win a championship?

The players had reportedly soured on Cassidy's intense coaching style, and appreciated the front office's decision to replace him with a more laid back Montgomery. But everything that worked for Montgomery betrayed him in the playoffs, because his laid back approach allowed the Panthers to storm back from a 3-1 series deficit and send the Bruins on vacation.

Meanwhile, Cassidy's coaching style appears to be working pretty good in Vegas since it just yielded them a Stanley Cup. The Golden Knights made some big moves to bolster their team, but you cannot ignore the fact that this team missed the playoffs entirely last season. That they were able to win it all this season is a testament to Cassidy's coaching.

You can only do so much as a coach, which is why it's becoming increasingly clear that Boston's problem is their current core group of players, rather than their coach or their front office. Sure, the Panthers destroyed the entire Eastern Conference, but the Bruins were the best team in the regular season, but still collapsed in the playoffs yet again. The addition of Montgomery didn't change anything in that regard, and Cassidy just went out and proved with the Golden Knights that he wasn't the problem either.

This raises a handful of other big questions that Boston is going to have to face this offseason. Do they make some big moves to break up their veteran core? Or do they do everything they can to run it back yet again and hope that it will finally result in a championship? It's not an easy decision to make, but it's clear that Cassidy's Cup run with the Golden Knights is something that the Bruins cannot ignore when it comes to re-constructing this team over the offseason.